jaundice

(noun)

A yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the whites of the eyes (sclera), and other mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the blood that build up in extracellular fluid, usually due to liver disease.

Related Terms

Examples of jaundice in the following topics:

  • Jaundice

    • Neonatal jaundice is usually harmless.
    • Typical causes for neonatal jaundice include normal physiologic jaundice, jaundice due to breast feeding, and hemolytic disorders.
    • The term jaundice comes from the French word jaune, meaning yellow.
    • In tropical countries, malaria can cause jaundice in this manner.
    • Post-hepatic jaundice, also called obstructive jaundice, is caused by an interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system.

  • Hepatitis

    • Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, poor appetite, and malaise.
    • Physical findings are usually minimal, apart from jaundice and liver swelling.
    • The occurrence of jaundice indicates advanced liver damage.
    • Alcoholic hepatitis can vary from mild with only liver test elevation to severe liver inflammation with development of jaundice and liver failure.
    • Jaundice, seen here as yellowing of the eyes, is often a symptom of hepatitis.

  • Skin Color as a Diagnostic Clue

    • Changes in skin color can be diagnostic of trauma (bruising), environmental, or physiological changes (jaundice, melasma, and liver spots).
    • Also known as icterus, jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the whites of the eyes (sclera), and other mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the blood that builds up in extracellular fluid .
    • The term jaundice comes from the French word jaune, meaning yellow.

  • Metabolic Changes

    • Babies born to mothers with untreated gestational diabetes are typically at increased risk of problems such as being large for gestational age (which may lead to delivery complications), low blood sugar, and jaundice.

  • Aging and the Digestive System

    • Other pathologies that increase in occurrence with age include acute pancreatitis, jaundice, and gallbladder problems.

  • Erythroblastosis Fetalis (Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn)

    • After delivery, bilirubin is no longer cleared (via the placenta) from the neonate's blood and the symptoms of jaundice (yellowish skin and yellow discoloration of the whites of the eyes) increase within 24 hours after birth.
    • Like any other severe neonatal jaundice, there is the possibility of acute or chronic kernicterus.

  • Pancreatitis

    • These may cause pain, become infected, rupture and bleed, block the bile duct and cause jaundice, or migrate around the abdomen.

  • Galactosemia and Glycogen Storage Disease

    • Infants affected by galactosemia typically present with symptoms of lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, failure to thrive, and jaundice.

  • Pancreatic Cancer

  • Premature Infants

    • Hematologic complications include anemia of prematurity, thrombocytopenia, and hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice) that can lead to kernicterus, adversely affecting the brain.